Russian government agencies and universities have begun purchasing stress-relief toys for their employees, according to the Russian Telegram channel Baza.
Journalists identified dozens of unusual government contracts under which regional agencies and universities are buying hundreds of branded anti-stress toys. Ordinary consumers are embracing the trend, too: demand for such products in Russia has surged nearly ninefold. During the summer alone, Russians purchased more than 12,000 items, spending nearly 8 million rubles (about $100,000).
Read also: Anxiety pills and sweet treats: Unusual gifts to Kazakhstani public servants unveiled.
Universities and regional agencies join the trend
According to Baza, Chelyabinsk State University ordered 160 plush gophers bearing its logo, while Ufa State Petroleum Technological University purchased 100 anti-stress toys. The Regional Development Center in Novosibirsk ordered 50 «Snowball» stress balls featuring the region’s logo.
Similar purchases have been reported elsewhere. In the Khanty-Mansi autonomous okrug, officials bought board games for events, while in the Russian republic of Tuva, anti-stress coloring books were included in orders for other books.
How people in Kazakhstan relieve stress
Kazakhstan has its own ways of dealing with stress. As Kursiv.media previously reported, a venue in Almaty called AntiStress Space offers visitors a chance to vent their anger without taking it out on other people.
Visitors can smash dishes, break a television or demolish a cabinet with a sledgehammer. The facility also has a relaxation room equipped with a retro video game console and an art zone where visitors can splatter neon paint on walls, canvases and figurines as a way to release their emotions.